This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 2001-74313 filed on Nov. 27, 2001, in the Korean Industrial Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an air conditioner, and more particularly, to an air conditioner which includes an improved hinge unit to allow an intake grille to be opened at a wide angle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a window type air conditioner has provided on the front surface of its body first air inlet and outlet ports to respectively suck in and discharge room air, and has provided on the rear portion of the body second air inlet and outlet ports to respectively suck in and discharge outdoor air.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional window type air conditioner. In this figure, a body 1 is provided with a front panel 2 having an air inlet port 2a through which room air flows into the body 1. A heat exchanger 3 is installed in the body 1 at a position close to the air inlet port 2a of the front panel 2 to absorb heat from the room air. An intake grille 4 having a plurality of vents 4a is connected to the front panel 2 to cover the front panel 2. An intake filter 5 is detachably mounted on the inner surface of the intake grille 4 to remove impurities, such as dust, from the room air flowing into the air conditioner.
The intake grille 4 is rotatably connected at a side edge thereof to the front panel 2 such that the intake grille 4 is opened and closed by rotating it at a predetermined angle when it is required to clean the filter 5 or replace the filter 5 with a new one. In order to allow the intake grille 4 to be rotatably held to the front panel 2, the intake grille 4 is provided on its inner surface with a connecting unit 6 in such a way that the connecting unit 6 extends toward the front panel 2 by a predetermined length. This connecting unit 6 has provided on an end thereof a hook-shaped connecting member 6a. To receive the connecting unit 6, a slot 7 of a predetermined depth is formed on the front panel 2 at a position facing the connecting unit 6. A hinge shaft 8 is provided in the slot 7 such that the connecting member 6a of the connecting unit 6 is rotatably held to the hinge shaft 8.
Since the air conditioner is designed such that the intake grille 4 is rotated around the hinge shaft 8, with the connecting unit 6 of the intake grille 4 inserted into the slot 7 of the front panel 2, the connecting unit 6 is caught by the mouth of the slot 7, so that the intake grille 4 cannot be opened at a desired wide angle when it is required to open the intake grille 4 for cleaning the intake filter 5 or replacing the filter 5 with a new one. Thus, the conventional air conditioner has a problem in that it is inconvenient for a user wanting to clean the intake filter 5 or replace the filter 5 with a new one. The conventional air conditioner has another problem in that the connecting unit 6 may be broken when the intake grille 4 is forcibly opened to a wide angle.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an air conditioner which allows its intake grille to be opened at a desired wide angle, thus allowing a user to easily clean an intake filter or replace the filter with a new one.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an air conditioner which allows the intake grille to be opened at the desired wide angle while minimizing a gap between a front panel and the intake grille when the intake grille is closed, thus having a good appearance.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.
The foregoing and other objects of the present invention are achieved by providing an air conditioner having a front panel provided with an air inlet port and an intake grille connected to the front panel to cover the front of the panel, wherein the air conditioner comprises: first connecting units forwardly protruding by a predetermined length from the front surface of the front panel, having a hinge shaft on an end of each first connecting unit, rotatably holding the intake grille to the front panel, and allowing the intake grille to be opened at a wide angle; and second connecting units provided on the inner surface of a bent portion formed along a side of the intake grille, and each having a hole to receive the hinge shaft.
The first connecting unit comprises: a forward extension part forwardly extending from the front panel by a predetermined length and a side extension part extending sideward from an end of the forward extension part by a predetermined length.
A predetermined space is defined between the front surface of the front panel and the side extension part to receive the bent portion of the intake grille when the intake grille is rotated around the hinge shaft to be opened.
The hinge shaft vertically extends from an end of the side extension part in an upward or downward direction.
The hole of each second connecting unit is eccentrically positioned proximately to an edge of the bent portion of the intake grille such that the rotation radius of the bent portion is minimized and a gap between the edge of the bent portion and the front panel is minimized when the intake grille is closed.
Each hole is partially opened toward the front surface of the front panel to form a mouth having a width smaller than the diameter of the hinge shaft so that the intake grille is easily attached to or easily detached from the front panel.
Furthermore, the front panel is provided on its front surface with a vertical groove to prevent the bent portion of the intake grille from interfering with the front panel when the intake grille is rotated to be opened or closed.